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Away Resorts chooses Kids’ Village as its Charity of the Year
Away Resorts has chosen Kids’ Village to be its Charity of the Year for 2024 as it aims to help the charity with its ambitious goal of building the UK’s first holiday village for children with critical illnesses.
22 February 2024
Each year, employees at Away Resorts choose which national charity they would like to support via fundraising and events at the company’s central support office and across its 25 UK holiday parks.
The decision to partner with Kids’ Village comes as the charity aims to raise £5 million for the construction of a holiday village in the West Midlands that will provide free breaks for critically ill children and their families.
Kids’ Village is the brainchild of Sam Fletcher-Goodwin, who at the age of nine was diagnosed with a form of cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. During this traumatic and uncertain time, Sam and her family had the opportunity to experience the ‘Give Kids The World’ Village Resort in Florida.
The visit began a 20-year journey for Sam and her parents as they dreamt of creating a similar experience for critically ill children in the UK. Now 30, Sam is leading efforts to raise funds for the resort’s construction.
In 2023, planning permission was granted for a site in Wychnor in the Staffordshire countryside, with the planned holiday village set to comprise 10 four-bedroom lodges and a central facility known as ‘The Hive’.
Away Resorts has been a longtime supporter of the project. In 2019, three members of the Away Resorts executive team joined the Kids’ Village team on The Costa Rica Challenge, crossing Costa Rica from east to west and raising over £20,000 for the charity.
With Kids’ Village named Charity of the Year for 2024, Away Resorts has a series of fundraising events and activities planned for the year ahead that will help to turn the holiday village dream into a reality.
Sam Fletcher-Goodwin, co-founder of Kids’ Village, said: “2024 is going to be a big year for Kids’ Village; following the issue of the planning permission and the signed lease agreement for the site, we can now go full steam ahead with our capital appeal. We are really excited to have brought in some influential Midlands business leaders to lead this mission to raise the £5 million needed to build the site.
“We are very proud to be supported by Away Resorts, who are a company that very much share in our values. Away Resorts knows the value of a holiday, and our purpose is to offer free holidays for really sick children and their families to focus on joy and time together.”
Simon Jones, CEO of Away Resorts, said: “At Away Resorts, we have always taken huge pride in giving back. We make sure that our people are invested in the causes that we support, and that those causes chime with our values as a business. It’s why we’re so excited to support Kids’ Village as our Charity of the Year for 2024, helping to achieve their inspiring and ambitious vision. We can’t wait to roll out our fundraising plans this year, working closely with the fantastic Kids’ Village team.”